Photo: Muhamad Foto Barzani on Facebook
Despite having the products, the factories, and the money, Volkswagen barely manages to produce enough electric vehicles. This has led to disappointing U.S. sales in the year’s first quarter. The German carmaker ranks only sixth, with less than 3,000 electric vehicles. Volkswagen dealers appear to be making a profit selling Tesla vehicles due to the lack of cars to sell.
It’s hard to make a business in the EV market today unless your name is Tesla. This is not much of a problem for the biggest carmakers in the U.S., like Ford or General Motors, as they have plenty of vehicles to sell for profit. In the case of Volkswagen, things look rather bleak: most of its ICE lineup sees only modest success, while the electric vehicles are too few to make a difference.
For the lack of better options, Volkswagen dealers in the U.S. sell used Tesla vehicles, as shown by several reports. A picture shared on the Tesla Owners Worldwide Facebook group shows six used Tesla Model 3 and Model Y cars sitting in a Volkswagen dealer’s parking lot in Dulles, Virginia. Some people thought that they were traded in by people buying a Volkswagen, but a more knowledgeable user dismissed such a ridiculous thought.
He was able to decipher the stock numbers for the Teslas and found out that the cars were purchased from the used car market. Other users shared similar stories, saying Volkswagen dealers buy every Tesla they can get their hands on. And you know how hard it is because Tesla put a new clause in the leasing contracts so that the lessees can’t sell their cars at the end of their contracts.
If you think selling used Teslas is a terrible business, think again. Another story on the same Facebook group shows precisely how much money a Volkswagen dealer makes selling a Tesla. It’s about a Model 3 with 2,084 miles on the odometer, which has an MSRP of $56,142 and a final selling price of $66,224. We don’t know the trim, but even a new Long Range can be had for $56,990 from Tesla, including destination charges.
The Volkswagen dealer justifies the difference by adding services like the “VW CARE 5/50k” ($997), including scheduled maintenance up to a 5-year/50,000-mile interval. The dealer also charges $830 for an Xzilon paint protection coating, $499 for window tint, $379 for all-weather floor mats, $199 for nitrogen-filled tires, and $199 for wheel locks. The most expensive added service is a LoJack 5-year plan for $998, completely unnecessary on a Tesla, which can be tracked via the Tesla app.
If you can live without all those extras, you can better spend the money on the Performance version of the car, which retails for $63,990. You get a lot of performance and still end up cheaper than the used one sold by Volkswagen. The main difference is that a new Tesla is only available in the second half of the year, whereas the used one could be yours in a couple of days. But is it enough to justify paying more than $10k over the MSRP?
For the lack of better options, Volkswagen dealers in the U.S. sell used Tesla vehicles, as shown by several reports. A picture shared on the Tesla Owners Worldwide Facebook group shows six used Tesla Model 3 and Model Y cars sitting in a Volkswagen dealer’s parking lot in Dulles, Virginia. Some people thought that they were traded in by people buying a Volkswagen, but a more knowledgeable user dismissed such a ridiculous thought.
He was able to decipher the stock numbers for the Teslas and found out that the cars were purchased from the used car market. Other users shared similar stories, saying Volkswagen dealers buy every Tesla they can get their hands on. And you know how hard it is because Tesla put a new clause in the leasing contracts so that the lessees can’t sell their cars at the end of their contracts.
If you think selling used Teslas is a terrible business, think again. Another story on the same Facebook group shows precisely how much money a Volkswagen dealer makes selling a Tesla. It’s about a Model 3 with 2,084 miles on the odometer, which has an MSRP of $56,142 and a final selling price of $66,224. We don’t know the trim, but even a new Long Range can be had for $56,990 from Tesla, including destination charges.
The Volkswagen dealer justifies the difference by adding services like the “VW CARE 5/50k” ($997), including scheduled maintenance up to a 5-year/50,000-mile interval. The dealer also charges $830 for an Xzilon paint protection coating, $499 for window tint, $379 for all-weather floor mats, $199 for nitrogen-filled tires, and $199 for wheel locks. The most expensive added service is a LoJack 5-year plan for $998, completely unnecessary on a Tesla, which can be tracked via the Tesla app.
If you can live without all those extras, you can better spend the money on the Performance version of the car, which retails for $63,990. You get a lot of performance and still end up cheaper than the used one sold by Volkswagen. The main difference is that a new Tesla is only available in the second half of the year, whereas the used one could be yours in a couple of days. But is it enough to justify paying more than $10k over the MSRP?
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